hi all

my dad is thinking of getting a freelander for towing his 2 berth caravan would he be better waiting and going for a freelander 2 or should he save his cash and get an older vehicle.

he only does about 10.000 miles per year but loves his caravaning, he presently has a picasso 2ltr hdi

cheers shawn disco3 tdv6 se auto, java black with alpacca leather and turbochip

bmw 330i convertable imola red with cream leather, nice car but no good for off roading

It depends on the weight of the van. It shouldn't be more than 85% of the car's weight, so unless its a huge 2 berth it should be great. The TD4 is popular enough but with a better diesel engine it will be great.

why not a base D3 as they are cheap at the moment 25k

Base D3 is a big car, if someone is looking for a smaller 4X4 this will be it. Many people do downsize from Disco to Freelander, this should make that easier

Rumour has it Freelander will have an additional lower than normal 1st gear in the 'box for towing assistance... not necessarily for off road use.

-s

Most caravans won't need this gear, especially on the flat as they are well within the cars towing limits. However due to a caravans stability and areo dynamic qualities as a rule of thumb the caravan should never be more than 85% of the cars weight, although experienced towers may touch 100%. all LRs are rated to tow above this, which if towing a low trailer eg Ifor Williams type this isn't a problem, but a lower 1st gear would be great to start.

Well it is a rumour

It looks great and I hope the spec matches the expectation. But it will be road biased not like the D3 which is off and on road supreme.

-s

Go for the TD4, I have been towing for the last five years with Freelanders and the TD4 is by far the best tool in the box.

The TD4 is a nice engine, but as a tow car it doesn't compare to the TDV6. I would hope the new Freelander will be as big a quantum leap as TD5 to TDV6.

That is not knocking the TD4 as it too was quite a leap forward from the Prima Perkins of my first Freelander

And also if you can stretch to it go for the AUTO version of which ever Freebie you go for - it's a command shift steptronic and is very well suited to towing and also means that there is no weakspot clutch to burn out......... a very expensive item to replace on current manual shifting Freelanders and something to watch for if buying a used TD4. It is also great for offroading in auto form as the power is fed in much more progressively than in a clutch/manual gearbox set-up. I ran a TD4 Auto for 2 years and towed an Ivor Williams trailor full of windsurfing gear round behind it.
I hear the F3 will have a 2.2litre Ford diesel the same as in the Mondeo so it should be OK for towing

Tim in Scotland wrote:

And also if you can stretch to it go for the AUTO version of which ever Freebie you go for - it's a command shift steptronic and is very well suited to towing and also means that there is no weakspot clutch to burn out......... a very expensive item to replace on current manual shifting Freelanders and something to watch for if buying a used TD4. It is also great for offroading in auto form as the power is fed in much more progressively than in a clutch/manual gearbox set-up. I ran a TD4 Auto for 2 years and towed an Ivor Williams trailor full of windsurfing gear round behind it.
I hear the F3 will have a 2.2litre Ford diesel the same as in the Mondeo so it should be OK for towing

Ha Robin, you can I haven't been a regular caller in here! How's things?

Hey people !

WhatCar are giving 10 people the chance to see the Freelander in an exclusive sneak preview on June 7th.

http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=220064

Sign and be lucky !

-s

Just to remind what the first ever technical issue was.  FREELANDER 2 TD4 SE (XS UK) IZMIR BLUE SIDE STEPS COLD PACK BI-XENON TINTED WINDOWS - AND PROUD OF HER

Matei wrote:

Just to remind what the first ever technical issue was.

Just to get another posting Matei  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.